2 injured in JTA bus crash on Philips Highway

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A driver is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after an early morning accident involving a Jacksonville Transportation Authority bus. A passenger on the bus was also transported to the hospital.

The accident on 4479 Philips Highway blocked all northbound lanes of Philips Highway just before Emerson Street for several hours. The crash was located in front of Suntree Mobile Home Park, not far from the Walmart.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the accident happened around 6:30 Monday morning. The bus was headed northbound on Philips Highways when it stopped in the 4400 block of Philips Highway to unload passengers. As passengers were getting off the bus, a white van rear-ended the back of the bus.

One of the passengers of the bus, along with the bus driver, went to check on the driver of the van, who was unresponsive inside his vehicle. While they were checking on him, the van caught on fire. Thankfully, the bus passenger and bus driver were able to use a fire extinguisher from the bus to put out the fire.